Monday, June 19, 2006

Stuff and SBD!

What a busy weekend! Sassy turned seven on Saturday, and she was full of the birthday spirit. She loved her presents and we took her to the Gap to get a couple of new outfits. She chose a sequined gypsy skirt in pink with a matching shirt, and a green and yellow flowered dress - where has my tomboy gone?? She got tons of money from the grandmothers; I've never known a person to attract money like she does, everyone throws money at her, even as a baby old ladies would see her and slip 50 pence pieces into her pram. One day I got her home and found £3.00 worth of coins underneath her. I know it's an old tradition to give silver to a new baby, but this was bizarre.

With her money she got an Unazukin; a small toy that nods yes and no when asked a question - far better than 8-ball! She's really sweet. She also got Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door which has had excellent reviews and from the small amount of play we've had already - it's so cool! It's more like a role play game so battles are easier for a seven year old to manage without arm-flapping throw down the remote controller panics.

Sunday she went to her best friend's birthday party (even though her birthday was way back in April, but her folks couldn't have a party then because they were having a new deck put in.) where she got to wear her new dress. We picked her up and drove straight over to the in-laws house for father's day presents. I'd promised to clip/groom their two cocker spaniels. The dogs are so well behaved it's easy, the male falls asleep on the table spread-eagled while I trim the knots off his privates. Not the most glamorous job I've ever had, but it's a skill I can take with me anywhere and pick up again at anytime if money got short. I will need to buy new clippers soon - mine get so hot now I gave myself a second degree burn on my finger - hurts like hell! That'll cost me about £100 to replace, so I'll save up over the next few months. It is ten years old, so it's about time it got retired.

Hubs and I were watching Brazil vs Australia last night and at one point they showed a Brazil player take a mouthful of drink and then laugh with mouth open so it all spilled down his front. This wasn't a "you're so funny!" spewing drink kind of thing, it was a "Oh, I forgot to swallow, duh!" thing.

Hubs: Why do they show us that? I don't want to see that. TV should know by now that you shouldn't do close-ups on players, they're all disgusting. Me: I know, if they aren't spitting they're shifting their balls or shooting snot out their noses. Hubs: Farmer's blow. Me: Yeah. Hubs: It's like when they show the winning stallion from Ascot - beautiful animal an all but it's having a five minute piss on camera. We don't want to see that.

So I got to wondering about heroes again (here's my segue into SBD - did you see it?) but more, who inspires the male hero's image in the writer's mind? I know Julie talks about her inspirations very openly and they change from book to book - there's a different character, so she gets a new icon. Diana Gabaldon says she based Jamie on her husband - don't know I should gag or smack her and shout "lucky bitch!". When reading anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon I havethis man in my mind. And who has Jilly Cooper got in her mind when she writes about jockeys? As a normal height to tallish woman, there's not much that's attractive to me in a five foot tall almost 100lbs man. My Mother in law, who is barely five foot tall, has every J.C. book every put in print. She also likes horses. I don't like horses, so those stories don't do a thing for me. But that's horses for courses as they say snarff snarff.

When we are reading novels do we imagine a completely new person, or do we take our favourite person and make them the hero? Is there, somewhere out there, a woman who makes every hero in every romance into Keanu Reeves (and if she does, I ask you; what are you thinking)? Myself, when reading, I create a new person from the description given by the author - and as little info as possible makes it easier for me. Just the basics please, my imagination does it's own perfect job making heros who give me goosebumps. When I write, I always have a particular someone in mind as the hero/ine but I leave personal description to a complete minimum, or leave it out all together. I think the reader should make them into their ideal man, not my idea if an ideal man. I love asking people "What did S/He look like to you?" because it's amazing what people will create in their own minds.

I get disappointed when books are turned into movies and the character I had in mind doesn't match the one the cast directors thought would be best. Of course, at the time of writing this I can't think of any off hand, but I can think of a few amazingly perfectly (ew double adverbs! slap my wrist.) placed characters; John Cusak in High Fidelity - I love hearing him say fuck, and he actually made the character better for me than when I read the book. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird - as if the role was made for him alone and let's not forget, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice and as Mark Darcy in Brigette Jones's Diary, he was perfect in each. Having said that, Renee Zelwegger was the perfect Brigette. Vivien Leigh was the perfect Scarlett O'Hara, but I think Clark Gable was too old for Rhett - but Holywood popularity being what it is. But I still wonder, is this the person the authors had in their minds while writing the manuscripts?

Ok, to tidy up, please take a moment to go and click over to my new tenent, NewfieGirl! She loves cooking, her dog - but not cooking her dog as that's totally bad. She's a slushie flavor mixer - so am I, so we are kindred. Go and see some of the great pictures she's taken, You'll like her. You will. Go click her. Go now.

John Cusack, Renee Zelwegger, Colin Firth ditto! But I still haven't read high fidelity. The whole story reminded me of my breakup with my ex and it bugged me that they got back together at the end, but I'm okay with it now and it is a great movie :)